Softball Adds Two More Signees

Posted: Jun 13, 2007

June 13, 2007

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland State softball program added two more pieces in its search for a Horizon League title as Kala Allred (Spirit Lake, ID/Timberlake) and Natalie Dematteis (Boyers, PA/Mercyhurst North East) have signed national letters of intent to attend Cleveland State and play softball beginning this fall. The announcement was made by CSU head coach Angie Nicholson on Wednesday (June 13).

Allred will be a freshman when she enrolls while Dematteis will be a junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

The duo brings the number of Viking signees this year to eight, joining Brittany Bate (Gross Point Woods, MI/Gross Point North), Katelyn Ciminelli (St. Clair Shores, MI/Lakeview), Jaci Messmer (Forest, OH/Hardin Northern), Andrea Nagy (Elyria, OH) and Christina Stoffer (Cincinnati, OH/Ross), each of whom signed with CSU during the early signing period last fall, and Amy Powell (Streetsboro, OH), who signed earlier this spring.

"The addition of Kala and Natalie really help to put the exclamation point on an outstanding recruiting class," Nicholson said. "We had some concerns with the number of quality starting pitchers and our depth in the middle infield. These signings solidify both spots.

Allred proved to be one of the top pitcher sin Idaho this past year, posting a 22-6 record and 0.67 ERA, striking out 294 in 177.1 innings pitched. She struck out 16 while throwing a three-hit shutout in the semi-finals of the state tournament and came in relief to throw five scoreless innings in a losing effort in the state title game. She threw four no-hitters and two perfect games.

Offensively, Allred hit .356 as a senior (36-101), driving in 28 runs and scoring 28 times.

For her career, Allred owned a 58-16 record with a 0.81 ERA. She pitched in 86 games, striking out 695 in 545 innings of actiona. A two-time league MVP, she totalled 127 runs scored, 120 RBI's and over 100 hits during her career.

A member of the National Honor Society, Allred received the U.S. MarineCorps Distinguished Athlete Award in high school. She plans on majoring in engineering at CSU.

"Kala is an exceptional student who has excelled on the mound and at the plate for both her high school team and summer ball team," Nicholson said. "Kala is an all-around athlete who I expect will fight for a spot in our outfield when she is not pitching. There is no doubt that she will find a way to break the starting lineup."

Dematteis has dominated play in her two seasons as a shortstop at Mercyhurst North East, setting school records for career hits (107), runs (73), doubles (29) and batting average (.532), finishing fifth in school annals in RBIs (54) and seventh in at-bats (201), striking out just five times during her career.

A two-time first team all-conference selection, Dematteis led the team with a .529 batting average this spring (46-87), scoring 19 runs and driving 19 runs in. More importantly, she made just four errors in 129 chances in the field for a team-best .969 fielding percentage as a sophomore.

DeMatteis' impact as a freshman was dramatic as she set school season records for hits (61), runs (54) and batting average (.535) en route to earning first team All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

"Natalie is a tough nosed player who will get the job done no matter where she plays," Nicholson said. "She loves the game and wants to win which means she will fit in perfectly with the direction that this team is going. She will add some power to our lineup and a great glove to our infield. I cannot wait to see Natalie in a Cleveland State uniform."

Cleveland State will return eight starters and 12 letterwinners off last year's team that posted a 33-14 record, finished second in the Horizon League regular season standings and advanced to the championship game of the league tournament before falling to Wright State.